Atefe Asadi is a writer, poetess, editor and translator from Tehran, Iran. In Iran, she worked as editor and translator with various publications and magazines, including the underground ones. Asadi’s literary work is set in the context of Iranian society and addresses the country’s social, political, and religious issues, gender, sexuality, and women’s rights and challenges conservatism, religion, war, and their consequences. She tries to present a realistic account of life in today’s Iran under the shadow of dictatorship from a variety of angles and perspectives and using different voices, narrators, and points of view. Her three story collections were rejected by Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and declared unprintable.

While in Iran, Asadi was under pressure due to her work with underground literature and civic activities. She was interrogated on numerous occasions and was arrested by the security forces. After the release, she was unable to continue her activity in Iran and was forced to close her social media accounts for months. In December 2022, Asadi took up the ICORN residency in Hannover, Germany, through the Hannah Arendt Scholarship. Since then, she has been following her literary and social activities in a safe atmosphere.